TagFAA(687)

This FAA Report to Congress examines the aging of federally funded sound insulation installed in homes near airports to reduce aircraft noise, focusing on treatments installed before 2007 such as window and door replacements, weatherstripping, and other upgrades. The report identifies key factors affecting long-term effectiveness, including product quality, installer workmanship, deterioration over time, and lack of homeowner maintenance. It draws on research covering over 143,000 residences treated since the early 1980s and offers recommendations for repairing or replacing insulation that has exceeded its effective lifespan.

The FAA Aerospace Forecast for Fiscal Years 2019–2039 projects steady growth in U.S. air travel, with domestic passenger traffic expected to increase an average of 1.8 percent per year over the next two decades. The report highlights how U.S. airlines have restructured since the 2007–09 recession, achieving ten consecutive years of profitability by cutting costs and consolidating operations. Increased flight activity and a growing commercial aircraft fleet may have implications for noise levels at busy airports such as Seattle-Tacoma International.

This Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) report, covering 2019–2023, examines the gap between what U.S. airports need to spend on infrastructure and the funding currently available to them. It estimates total development costs by airport size, project type, and location, and compares ACI-NA findings with FAA projections. The report highlights growing pressures from rising construction costs, increasing passenger and cargo demand, and insufficient federal funding mechanisms.

The FAA, in collaboration with NASA and Transport Canada, has developed a suite of software tools called the Aviation Environmental Tool Suite to assess the environmental impacts of aviation, including noise, air quality, fuel burn, and greenhouse gas emissions. The suite's main components include the Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), Environmental Design Space (EDS), and the Aviation environmental Portfolio Management Tool (APMT), which together help quantify the relationships between aviation-related noise, emissions, and costs. These tools are designed to support policy, technology, and operational decision-making at local, regional, national, and international levels, and are released to the public only after rigorous validation testing.

ATAC Corporation, an aviation analysis firm based in Santa Clara, CA, plays a major role in developing the FAA's Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), which models aircraft noise and emissions at both local and global scales. The document also includes a letter from the FAA's Seattle Airports District Office congratulating an airport on the approval of its Part 150 Noise Compatibility Program, a formal plan aimed at reducing or eliminating incompatible land uses around the airport. The FAA notes that approval of the program does not guarantee federal funding, and encourages the airport to periodically review and update the plan as conditions change.

This FAA Airport Capacity Profile for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) outlines the airport's runway configurations and hourly flight capacity under different weather conditions, including visual, marginal, and instrument scenarios. The document describes recent improvements such as Time-Based Flow Management and Reduced Diagonal Spacing, as well as future enhancements like improved runway delivery accuracy and Wake Recategorization Phase 2, all aimed at increasing the number of aircraft the airport can handle safely. Data covering December 2015 through December 2016 shows that visual conditions prevail 57% of the year, with instrument conditions occurring 25% of the time.